Skip to main content

Member Reviews

Unfortunately this was a huge miss. I ended up DNFing so my rating is based on what I read. I felt zero connection to the characters of plot in this one. The steam was cringey, and for this reason it’s not the first TB book that has left me with a bitter taste afterwards. Some of her books I have loved, and others not. Sad this one fell into the not category because I wanted to love this one.

Was this review helpful?

yo amo la representación de anxiety y panic attack en libros y este libro lo time ropero aunque yo ame que el chico sea así y también tenga un buen poco de ocd el libro nunca me clickeo en mi mente no se porque sentí que todo fue apurado, la relación paso todo tan rápido de 1 a 100 y el chico para mi era tímido pero no! De tímido el no tiene nada. I did like the girl a lot Ella fue un terremoto pero en un buen sentido ella y sus perritos contra el mundo. And I did like that the boy siempre quiere hacerla feliz y arreglar todo para que ella no esté triste. Y adore que en capítulo el dijo que si el pudiera como darle a ella felicidad siempre el sería feliz and that’s como tú te ganas mi corazón. El libro fue cute, bye

Was this review helpful?

I had really high hopes for Secretly Yours! I thought it was just OKAY. Definitely enjoyable but unfortunately a bit forgettable. I did love the dual POVs and small town feel. I really loved the supporting characters though and can’t wait for Julian’s sister’s story!

Was this review helpful?

This is a cute little fun read.
It’s one of those books you can just devour in one sitting, which is my personal fav for breaking a slump. Which is what this did.
If you enjoy stories about second chance romances, small town romances, and dual POV this one will be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Canada for my eBook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

okay love Tessa but I feel like this could’ve been shorter. I loved Hallie & Julian but am I the only one who didn’t FEEL the chemistry? I feel like “It happened one summer” is my 5 star top read by Tessa so it’s gonna be hard to compete but this was a cute read

Was this review helpful?

Super cute grumpy x sunshine book. I really enjoyed the beginning, but felt that the story was a little drawn out. The love letter aspect was a little strange. I was expecting it to be more of them getting to know each other through the letters but ended up being a little awkward and one sided.

Was this review helpful?

Bubbly gardener, Hallie Welch, fell hard for Julian Vos after their almost-kiss years ago. After being hired to landscape the gardens of the Vos family vineyards, Hallie can't resist the temptation of her old crush being back in town--even if he might not remember her--and one drunken girl's night mistake later, decides to leave a secret admirer letter for Julian. As they continue to clash each time they meet, will her secret letters be enough to make things right?


Tessa Bailey has made quite a name for herself in the contemporary romance genre and for good reason! Secretly Yours is an adorable take on the grumpy/sunshine trope. With fantastic character growth and a cast of side characters you can't help but love, this is the first of a new duology that's going to be just as big as It Happened One Summer!

3.5/5 stars!

Was this review helpful?

Fun! This was a sweet and easy to ready romcom. I feel like it was a bit different than Tessa's normal writing, but overall enjoyed the story.

Was this review helpful?

Hallie has had the hots for Julian since they almost kissed! Now they are both in town to work but they couldn't be more opposite. She's a free spirit and he's in total control. Hallie gets drunk one night and writes him a secret admirer letter and leaves it where he can find it. She does throw him off kilter and he is having a hard time writing his book. Can they get it together this time? This is my first book by this author, and I enjoyed it a lot. I received an ARC from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Was this review helpful?

Ok I love Tessa Bailey. Always. She’s my ride or die. So I feel so bad saying that this book just took me some time to get into. I wanted to love it, and in ways I totally did, it just missed the mark of immediately grabbing my attention.

Was this review helpful?

Tessa Bailey is the queen of fun and easy romance novels. I really enjoyed this one! I liked Julia and Hallie, the way they balanced each other out and getting to know Julian's family. I loved that there was anxiety rep thrown in and I would have liked to see more about Julian and his mom. I really loved Julian. This was fun!

Was this review helpful?

I was absolutely enamored with this story and the characters!! Tessa Bailey has done it again with this one. I found the main characters absolutely endearing and the differences in their personalities were so funny and their banter was next level!

Was this review helpful?

Hallie Welch has been infatuated with Julian Vos since they were in high school, and she was the lowly freshman he didn’t notice after their almost kiss in his family’s vineyards. Now he’s returned to their small town and Hallie has been hired to refresh the gardens at the guesthouse where he’s staying. She wonders if her fantasies of kissing him might finally be realized, but soon sees how unlikely that is given the starchy professor is her polar opposite. That doesn’t stop Hallie from leaving him a secret admirer letter after too much wine at girls’ night.

Julian has taken a break from his job as a professor at Stanford to write a fiction novel. He certainly doesn’t need the distraction of Hallie gardening outside his window and her refusal to adhere to a timetable is wreaking havoc on his schedule. He can’t help but find Hallie beautiful, even when she’s covered in dirt. With his focus already shaken, Julian is completely taken aback to find an anonymous love note addressed to him. Even as he wonders at the author’s identity, he’s drawn even closer to Hallie’s vivaciousness. For someone who thrives on strict order, Julian soon comes to realize that Hallie’s cheery chaos is exactly what he’s been missing in his well-ordered life.

This was a fine read but after how much I adored this author’s previous two releases, I was a little letdown by this one. So much was done right, but other parts fell a bit flat for me. I loved that we got anxiety rep here and bonus points that it was the hero. Yet again in this season of grief for me personally, I’ve found a main character who is struggling with grief, Hallie in this case, though that was also handled quite well. Julian and Hallie felt like such a mismatch, but I also really liked how they each brought about a change in the other that resulted in more happiness and less rigidity and chaos, respectively. I wasn’t crazy about how abrupt the ending felt. After such a slow burn, it definitely felt rushed, so their relationship didn’t feel as permanent as I would like. I loved how hard Julian fell for Hallie and I wanted to see more of him embracing that rather than having so much of him fighting his emerging feelings. I guess I just wanted more of a balance between those two sides of his character. Also, this could’ve been a super-hot book but thanks to that agonizingly slow burn, it ran right up to that potential and then ran away just as quickly. Overall, I did like Hallie and Julian, and I loved the supporting characters and the themes of self-acceptance, but I wanted somehow just a bit more from it all the same. I’m nonetheless charmed by the premise and setting and am looking forward to Natalie’s book and actually hoping for a HEA for Owen as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

#SecretlyYours #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-Arc copy of this novel. A funny, witty, cute novel of romance.

Was this review helpful?

DNF. I don't finish a book that often, but the immaturity level of the characters put me off almost immediately.

Was this review helpful?

I tend to love all of Tessa Bailey’s books, this one being no exception. If you like opposites attract, second chance, and maybe a bit of grumpy/sunshine, give this one a go. It’s just a nice lighthearted romcom that had me giggling and smiling, and the spice is 🔥 as usual! Can’t wait to read book 2!

Was this review helpful?

DNF 22%

The FMC is insufferably immature.
Rather than using her words or taking actual impactful action she vandalizes, prank calls and steals cheese from a business. She is an adult that still has a school girl crush on a man she barely knows and has had a crush for 15 years.

Can’t stomach it anymore

Was this review helpful?

I wouldn't call this grumpy vs sunshine but this is definitely an opposites attract situation. The letters didn't do it for me but the vineyard setting and the spice certainly did. Looking forward to book 2!

Was this review helpful?

Frankly, this felt like not the best-written book. I love Tessa Bailey's writing, but it wasn't cutting it for me. Didn't enjoy the characters or the romance.

Thank you Netgalley for the book, this is my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This book is trademark Tessa Bailey. There is her humor, spice, charm, and chemistry all wrapped in a cute pink book.

This book had me giggling and kicking my feet in joy. I absolutely loved how in love Julian was with Hallie. I wished we got to see them fall in love a little more instead of it being so quick and kind of insta-lovey but I did love the parts where they were together.

Overall this book is just comforting and cute and I can't wait for the next one!

Was this review helpful?